Italy said Tuesday it would follow EU peers and summon the Chinese ambassador over Beijing's retaliatory sanctions, triggered by Western actions against China's treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority. "The Chinese ambassador to Rome has been summoned tomorrow... in relation to the sanctions imposed by Beijing on the European Union," the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement. The diplomatic spat erupted Monday after the EU, Britain and Canada blacklisted four former and current officials from China's northwestern Xinjiang region for cracking down on the Uyghurs. The United States also took action in a coordinated move with its allies. Having already sanctioned two of the Chinese officials in July 2020, they extended the measure to the two others. China, which angrily rejects claims that Uyghurs suffer mass persecution, responded with entry bans for 10 Europeans -- including five members of the European Parliament -- as well as two EU bodies and two think-tanks. Italy's summoning of the Chinese envoy mirrored steps already announced by France, Germany and other EU governments, and came from a country that was until recently seen as one of the more China-friendly in Europe. This was largely due to Italy's decision in 2019 to sign up to China's flagship infrastructure development Belt and Road Initiative, despite deep suspicions of it in Washington and Brussels. aa/tgb